Winners win trophies. That was the simple message that Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor gave her players before Sunday’s League Cup final. It clearly got through, too, because her Blues put on a performance of champions to beat Manchester United and win the first silverware of the season, while sending a message to the rest of England - and Europe - that, despite a disappointing campaign so far, they are still a huge threat.
Lauren James' brilliance took centre stage as Chelsea retained the Women's League Cup on Sunday, the England international once again coming back to haunt Manchester United as her goal was backed up by Aggie Beever-Jones' opportunistic finish to give the Blues a 2-0 win and the first piece of silverware of the season. In a tight game of few chances, James' clinical touch looked set to prove decisive before Beever-Jones made sure of the win in the latter stages, rounding off a remarkable effort from a Chelsea side plagued by injuries.
Manchester United came up short in Sunday's Women's League Cup final, losing 2-0 to Chelsea after a catastrophic Dominique Janssen error gifted Lauren James the opening goal. Marc Skinner's side did have plenty of the play in Bristol across the course of the 90 minutes, but their hopes of a fightback were extinguished by substitute Aggie Beever-Jones in the second half.
USWNT sensation Alyssa Thompson has lifted the lid on her daunting transition from Angel City FC to the relentless spotlight of the Women's Super League. Trading the sunny comforts of her Los Angeles hometown for a blockbuster move to Chelsea, the 20-year-old forward revealed the leap was so intimidating that she braced herself to go four months without finding the back of the net in a star-studded Blues squad.
Chelsea’s season hasn’t gone to plan so far. After romping to a sixth successive Women’s Super League crown last year, going unbeaten through all 22 games to set multiple records, the Blues’ title defence has fallen incredibly flat. Sat nine points behind leaders Manchester City with six games to go, it’s simply not been good enough for a club with such high standards.
Chelsea will be without captain Millie Bright for Sunday's League Cup final against Manchester United, dealing the Blues a big blow in their bid to retain the trophy. However, head coach Sonia Bompastor will be able to welcome back another key player this weekend, giving her side a necessary boost amid a flurry of injuries.
There was less than an hour remaining in the Women’s Super League summer transfer window when the most stunning business of all was completed. Jess Park and Grace Clinton had been stalwarts at Manchester City and Manchester United, respectively, during the previous season. And yet, at the eleventh hour, both were sent to opposite sides of the city, to represent what had been their biggest and bitterest rival.
After winning all of the last six Women's Super League titles in succession, it's not been an easy season so far for Chelsea. The Blues are set to surrender their crown for the first time in seven years, with Manchester City sat eight points clear at the top of the table, and the negative noise around the club has only grown since the unpopular departure of Paul Green, the long-time head of women's football, was announced last week. But on Sunday, it felt like a boost of hope was injected into their season, by none other than Lauren James.
Lionesses star Ella Toone is "probably" going to miss Manchester United's League Cup final clash with Chelsea next month, Red Devils boss Marc Skinner has admitted. The England international has not played since December because of a hip issue and it is unlikely that she is going to recover in time for the showpiece event, meaning she is all-but-ruled out of the Lionesses first camp of 2026, too.
Manchester United reached their first Women's League Cup final by beating record champions Arsenal 1-0 in the semi-finals on Wednesday. Elisabeth Terland scored the only goal of the game as the Red Devils kept their third successive clean sheet against the Gunners, who were reduced to ten players when Olivia Smith was sent off at the Mangata Developments Stadium.
Chelsea will have the chance to defend their Women's League Cup crown after they bested WSL leaders Manchester City 1-0 in a tense semi final at the Joie Stadium. The visitors notched the only goal of the game in the 41st minute, as Wieke Kaptein headed Sandy Baltimore's in-swinging cross. City will rue their missed chances, as they fluffed two open goals and struck the woodwork on three occasions.
Manchester United's season so far has been dominated by criticisms of the preparation, or lack thereof, done before it. After making just three summer signings, while bidding farewell to two first-team players, the Red Devils' squad looked completely ill-equipped for the challenge of competing in the Women's Champions League proper for the first time, if they were to also remain a contender on a domestic front. But having rather admirably kept themselves afloat despite those issues, United are already attacking the January window with the necessary, and overdue, vigour needed.
Liverpool were humiliated as they fell to a disastrous 9-1 loss to reigning Women's Super League champions Chelsea in the Women's League Cup quarter-finals on Sunday. Johanna Rytting Kaneryd scored a hat-trick, while Matildas star Sam Kerr contributed with a brace as the Blues comfortably reached the competition's last-four stage.
Bethany England remembers vividly the first time she won the League Cup. There were just five minutes remaining when Leah Williamson levelled the scores for Arsenal at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground, putting the 2020 final on the brink of extra time. But then, basically on the goal line at the other end, England popped up with the stoppage time winner for Chelsea, as Emma Hayes’ Blues filled a frustrating gap in an otherwise bulging trophy cabinet.
Tottenham have condemned the "disgraceful" and “cowardly” racist abuse sent to forward Jessica Naz in the wake of the club’s Women’s League Cup victory over Aston Villa. The 24-year-old was subjected to vile taunts online after figuring in a fixture that saw Spurs prevail on penalties. She has spoken out against the social media trolls, with Tottenham offering their full support.
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